AKEELAH AND THE BEE
How do you spell success? C-O-M-M-U-N-I-T-Y
Popcornreel.com Film Review:
"Akeelah and the Bee"
By Omar P.L. Moore/April 30, 2006
A phenomenal film from Doug Atchison, "Akeelah and
the Bee" is the story of an 11-year-old student at Crenshaw High
School who is bright beyond compare, yet seems content to do the
minimum required to excel. Much of Akeelah's reluctance is
down to what her school friends and other students think of her, as
well as her neighborhood friends. As the film begins she has
missed a number of classes and is told by the school's principal
teacher that she will spend a summer in detention if she doesn't
participate in the local spelling bee. She aces all but one of
the words and then with encouragement from a cold, dispassionate
mentor named Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) is persuaded to reach
further and expand her horizons to compete in a regional bee on the
road to reaching the Scripps National Spelling Bee Final.
Akeelah's domestic environment in South Central Los Angeles is a
continual reminder of the uphill struggle she faces as she fights
the continual pull of low expectations from all quarters including
from within. She has lost her father to gun violence and her
older brother is mixing with the wrong crowd. Her eldest
brother whom she loves dearly, is away in the Air Force.
Contributing to her battle against self-doubt is her mother, played
with typical grit and passion by Angela Bassett. At every
turn, she discourages Akeelah from entering spelling bees and
insists that she focus on attending school and finishing the
semester without further absences from class.
Peaks and valleys in Akeelah's fortunes ensue. One of
the peaks in Akeelah's life is Javier (J.R. Villarreal) a charming, friendly
student from a school district in the upscale Woodland Hills community.
Javier happily invites her to his school and to his house, much to the chagrin
of her mother. [Akeelah's acumen doesn't preclude her from misbehaving, as
Mr. Achison shows us -- she does things that 11 year-old girls do to rebel
against their mothers.]
She soon comes up against her main competition as her path to the Scripps
national bee sharpens into clear focus. Dylan is a super-smart, intensely
introverted whiz-kid, burdened and abused by the hard-driving and demanding
father (played by Tzi Ma) whose expectations of his son are a function of his
own inadequacies, as Dylan himself states during the film's climax. "My father's
never won anything in his life."
Reading, spelling and trepidation: Keke Palmer as Akeelah, under the watchful
and amused eye of Mr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) in "Akeelah and the Bee".
Photo: Lions Gate
Predictably "Akeelah and the Bee" features the tough-love mother who comes
around to her daughter's desire to win the national competition following her
doubts, as well as the kids in the local neighborhood who respect the studious
girl they once despised and jeered. The film contains poignant, moving
back stories for both Mr. Fishburne's and Ms. Bassett's characters, adding depth
and authenticity to a film that could have been an exercise in cardboard cutout
characters. Fortunately, "Akeelah and the Bee" succeeds in all areas: as a
family film, as a movie with great tension and suspense, as a love story, and a
love letter to parents and the community that surrounds them.
One thing's for sure, "Akeelah and the Bee" is a crowd-pleasing, audience
cheering drama -- and a team effort. The twist to this heartwarming drama
is somewhat original and appropriate. Keke Palmer is superb in only her
third big screen role. As Akeelah, she has the right balance of charisma,
curiosity, mischief and intelligence. Her presence is amazing and her
poise is purposeful. Ms. Palmer, who isn't yet a teenager (at 12 years of
age) is wise beyond her years and surely has a future in film ahead of her.
Her magnificent work in "Akeelah and the Bee" is not unlike that of first-time
efforts from Rob Brown in "Finding Forrester" or Derek Luke in "Antwone Fisher",
which Mr. Atchison's film resembles to a small degree.
Angela Bassett's role is one she has played before (see "Boyz N The Hood") and
still does well. Her three or four scenes with Mr. Fishburne (good as
usual, here playing the never-give-up-professor/mentor) in "Akeelah" are a
contrast to their intense and violent interactions as Tina and Ike Turner in the
1993 film "What's Love Got to Do With It", for which both were Oscar nominees.
[They were also in John Singleton's "Boyz N The Hood" but shared very little if
any screen time at all in that 1991 film.] Curtis Armstrong (who plays the
principal Mr. Welch) does his job without being pithy or obnoxious -- he plays a
character who only wants to see one of his gifted students succeed in a troubled
environment. And Sean Michael plays uber-brain student Dylan with
permanent fear etched on his face. Dylan looks looks perpetually
constipated, as if he feels his abusive father standing right behind him,
shadowing every move he makes. Mr. Michael plays an imprisoned student
trapped by success, unable to enjoy it. He is very convincing.
The music of the film is also impressive. Besides Aaron Zigman's music score, the soundtrack boasts great classics of yesteryear, including the stirring "Wake Up Everybody" by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes, sung by lead singer Teddy Pendergrass. Ms. Palmer, also a singer and dancer, sings a track called "All My Girlz".
"Akeelah and the Bee" is not to be confused with "Bee Season",
a film starring Richard Gere and Juliette Binoche that opened last October.
While that particular film also focused on spelling bees and a hard-driving
father, it was steeped in the sub-plot of dysfunctional family drama, accounting
for an intense and claustrophobic experience. "Akeelah" has its down
moments, but its light-heartedness and uplifting power is both refreshing and
real.
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